The denominator represents how many equal parts there are in the whole. For example, a pizza might be cut into 8 pieces. The denominator for the pizza would then be “8”. If you cut the same pizza into 12 slices, then the denominator would be 12. Either way they represent the same whole, just cut up differently. [3] X Research source The numerator represents a part, or parts, of the whole. One slice of the whole pizza would be represented by the numerator “1”. Four slices would be represented by the numerator “4”.
Decimals are also often read in a way that demonstrates their similarity to fractions. For example, 0. 05 would commonly be read aloud as “five-hundredths,” the same as 5/100. The fraction is represented by the numbers placed to the right of the decimal point.
The fraction 2/3, for example, can also be stated as 2 divided by 3.
A simple way to do this is to simply put the divisor (for example, 2 is the divisor in 1 divided by 2) on the bottom and the dividend (1 is the dividend in 1 divided by 2) on top. So, 1 divided by 2 would equal one half (1/2)
It is a basic rule in math that multiplying anything by one does not change its value. This means that when we multiply the original fraction we had by a fraction that is equal to one we are not changing its value, we are simply changing how we represent that value. For example, the fraction 2/2 is really just 1 (because 2 divided by itself is equal to 1). If you are trying to convert 1/5 to a fraction with a denominator of 10, you would multiply it by 2/2. The result would be 2/10. [12] X Research source To multiply two fractions, simply multiply straight across. Multiply both numerators together and make the result the numerator of the answer. Then multiply the denominators and make the result the denominator of the answer. You will be left with a new fraction.
For instance, you have the number 2/10. The denominator has one zero. So we start by rewriting “2” as “2. " (this doesn’t change the value of the number) and then we move the decimal one space to the left. That gives us “0. 2”. You will quickly learn how to do this with all sorts of numbers with easy denominators. After a while, this process becomes pretty easy. You just look for a fraction with a power of 10 denominator (or one that can be readily made into one) and convert the top number into a decimal.
Some basic fraction to decimal conversions you should know by heart are 1/4 = . 25, 1/2 = . 5, and 3/4 = . 75. If you want to convert the fraction really quickly, you can simply use a search engine on the internet to search for the answer. For example, you could type “1/4 decimal” or something similar.
